Government plans to protect tenants from poor living conditions through the expansion of mandatory HMO licensing looks set be less successful than hoped as councils are struggling to enforce the rules.

Councils are braced for a Budget crackdown on their exploits in the commercial property market, amid mounting Government concern that bad investments could trigger a funding crunch for local services.
The Chancellor is expected to unveil tough new rules on council investing next month. Whitehall officials fear that attempts by councils to bolster their income by ploughing borrowed millions into office developments and shopping centres have put their finances at risk.

Cutbacks in local authority planning departments are contributing to bottlenecks which are adding almost two years to the time it takes to get a house built, according to new research.
The report, commissioned by housebuilder Barratt, found that it now takes on average at least four years from the granting of detailed planning permission to a completed home, compared to estimates in 2012/13 by the Local Government Association of 27 months.